François Bontemps (1753–1811), later baron d'Abaumont, a brigadier general during the

French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars () were a series of sweeping military conflicts resulting from the French Revolution that lasted from 1792 until 1802. They pitted French First Republic, France against Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain, Habsb ...

and the

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

. He was born 1 June 1753 at

Saumur Saumur () is a Communes of France, commune in the Maine-et-Loire Departments of France, department in western France. The town is located between the Loire and Thouet rivers, and is surrounded by the vineyards of Saumur itself, Chinon, Bourgu ...

, and died 29 October 1811 at Saumur (

Maine-et-Loire Maine-et-Loire () is a department in the Loire Valley in the Pays de la Loire region in Western France. It is named after the two rivers, Maine and the Loire. It borders Mayenne and Sarthe to the north, Loire-Atlantique to the west, Indr ...

Family and education

François Bontemps was born into a family of craftsmen, workers of copper and bronze, in

. As a boy, his parents hoped he would become a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

and he was sent to study at the College of Saumur, and later Seminary of Angers. Lacking a

vocation A vocation () is an Work (human activity), occupation to which a person is especially drawn or for which they are suited, trained or qualified. Though now often used in non-religious contexts, the meanings of the term originated in Christianity. ...

, however, Bontemps enlisted in an infantry regiment of the Royal Army. In 1784, having reached the rank of company clerk, and remained there for two years, he realized that he could not advance. He accepted a discharge the 4 May and returned to study the priesthood. In 1789, François Bontemps embraced the principles of the French Revolution, and in 1792 enlisted as a chaplain in the volunteer battalion of the

Eure Eure ( ; ; or ) is a department in the administrative region of Normandy, northwestern France, named after the river Eure. Its prefecture is Évreux. In 2021, Eure had a population of 598,934.Bayard Bayard may refer to: People *Bayard (given name) * Bayard (surname) *Pierre Terrail, seigneur de Bayard (1473–1524) French knight Places Antarctica * Bayard Islands, off the coast of Graham Land, Antarctica Canada * Bayard, Saskatch ...

, after the famous medieval French knight. This same intrepidity, and his tendency to lead from the front, caused a serious wound from a musket ball on 3 May 1800 at the

Stockach Stockach () is a town in the district of Konstanz, in southern Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Location It is situated in the Hegau region, about 5 km northwest of Lake Constance, 13 km north of Radolfzell and 25 km northwest of K ...

, by Engen. Despite this, he continued to fight and two days later participated in the

Battle of Messkirch The Battle of Messkirch (5 May 1800) saw a Republican French army led by Jean Victor Marie Moreau attack a Habsburg Austrian army commanded by Paul Kray. At the start of the 1800 campaign in Germany, Moreau's 108,000-strong field army fac ...

. Over the summer, though, his injury worsened and he was discharged from the army in 1801. After his release from active service, Bontemps retired to Saumur, where he died on 29 October 1811. He is buried in the cemetery of Varrains.

Dates of Service

*21 Sept 1773: Regimental Corporal *1 Oct 1774 : Sergeant *13 May 1778: Sergeant of

Chasseur ''Chasseur'' ( , ), a French term for "hunter", is the designation given to certain regiments of French and Belgian light infantry () or light cavalry () to denote troops trained for rapid action. History This branch of the French Army o ...

s *4 May 1784: Decommissioned *Early 1792 : Enlisted *1792 : elected Lieutenant of battalion, as part of the

Armée du Nord The Army of the North or is a name given to several historical units of the French Army. The first was one of the French Revolutionary Armies that fought with distinction against the First Coalition from 1792 to 1795. Others existed during th ...

*April 1793: Lieutenant-colonel of 11th battalion of the Vosges *12 Mar 1794: Chef of Brigade, 175th

Demi-Brigade A ''demi-brigade'' () is a military formation used by the French Army since the French Revolutionary Wars. The ''demi-brigade'' amalgamated the various infantry organizations of the French Revolutionary infantry into a single unit. Each one wa ...

, (

Army of Sambre-et-Meuse The Army of Sambre and Meuse () was a field army of the French Revolutionary Army. It was formed on 29 June 1794 by combining the Army of the Ardennes, the left wing of the Army of the Moselle and the right wing of the Army of the North. I ...

) *5 May 1796: Chef of Brigade, 67th Demi-Brigade *Sept 1797 : Transferred to the Army of Germany *1798 :

Armée de Mayence The Army of Mainz or Army of Mayence (''Armée de Mayence'') was a French Revolutionary Army set up on 9 December 1797 by splitting the Army of Germany into the Army of Mayence and the Army of the Rhine. Part of it split off on 4 February 1799 to ...

*1799 :

Army of the Danube The Army of the Danube () was a field army of the French Directory in the 1799 southwestern campaign in the Upper Danube valley. It was formed on 2 March 1799 by the simple expedient of renaming the Army of Observation, which had been obs ...

*March 1799: Général de brigade (promoted in the field at the Battle of Stockach, 26 March and officialized on 20 April). *End of 1799 : attached to the Armée du Rhin *1801: released from service with serious injuries.

Awards and honors

*14 Jun 1804: Commander,

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

*August 1809: Napoleon gave him a silver snuff box and created Baron d'Empire title Baron d'Abaumont. *August 1809 : Created Baron d'Empire with the title of Baron d'Abaumont. {{DEFAULTSORT:Bontemps, Francois 1753 births 1811 deaths People from Saumur French military personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars French commanders of the Napoleonic Wars Barons of the First French Empire Commanders of the Legion of Honour